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The Tribulation Pt 1: The Beginning of the End
“Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate." (Daniel 9:24-27, NASB, emphasis mine)With these words, Daniel gave us a basic framework of how time would proceed, from the rebuilding of Jerusalem, to the coming of the Messiah, to the time that mankind would come to know of, and fear.
As Daniel lays out the timeline, Jesus speaks of a time of great trouble that would scare folks to death; a time where the entire planet would be judged in a series of judgments that would pound the world so ferociously, that if those days weren't shortened by God, NO ONE would survive it at all.
“Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” (Matthew 24:15-22, NASB, emphasis mine)
Now, even though Jesus says that after the "abomination of desolation" would be "Great Tribulation", the whole period is referred to as the Tribulation:
" Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:13-17, NASB, emphasis mine)
This event takes place fairly early in the Tribulation, between the sixth and seventh seals being broken. So, I would say the entire time is the Tribulation.
With the reason it's called the Tribulation and a bit of where it came from in place, we can now go to the start of it in Scriptures, and see how it begins...
“After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.
Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME.” And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”(Revelation 4, NASB)
So, what does it all mean? What's with the creatures, and the 24 elders? And what's the rainbow for? And what’s the deal with the sea of glass? And is God made out of jewels or something? What's going on here?!?
First off, keep in mind that when Scripture says “as if it were", or “like unto", for example, it does not necessarily mean "exactly as"! It's making a comparison to the closest thing we have in our experience. What we are seeing is the Throne room of God, as best as John can describe it. When Ezekiel and Isaiah both saw the Lord, they could scarcely conceive of how to describe him. So if John's description seems fanciful, keep in mind that he is seeing in the spirit a whole different world entirely, and a scene there that defies the languages of earth's ability to paint a picture of it to us.
All of that being said, God's appearance is likened unto fine gems of John's era, the way they glimmered and the radiance they had. God is not described in features that a person would have, but in his glory and majesty. All we see of him in this description is the beauty and brilliance he shows. The rainbow, which he gave to man as a promise that he would never again destroy the earth with water (Genesis 9:13-16), is predominantly green in its description. In nature, we see green as a sign of life, and here, green is a pleasant color, predominant in the multi-hued display about the throne. Additionally, emeralds have a shimmer and a clarity that are a sight to behold and this rainbow is indeed that. As for the sea of glass, it does not point to a literal sea per se, but hearkens back to the Israelite Temple in Jerusalem:
" Now he made the sea of cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits, and thirty cubits in circumference.” (1 Kings 7:23, NASB, emphasis mine)
They had a great basin of water, with which to cleanse themselves ritually. In this case, the "sea" was as clear and sparkling as crystal glass.
The creatures are described with exacting features, and the words, "like" appear to describe their faces; the rest is "as is." The first, like a lion, show power and ferocity; the second, an ox, portrays steadfastness and strength; the third, like a man, indicates reason and thought; the fourth, like an eagle, conveys swiftness and grace. Their descriptions hearken back to Ezekiel's vision in Ezekiel 1:10-14; but there, each creature had these faces, where here, each one of them has a separate, differing face. The eyes all over them would indicate that they can see in all directions at once, and that at no time are all, of their eyes "closed'.
Now, as for the 24 elders: clearly they are exalted, as they have crowns; and they are righteous, seeing as they are dressed in white, a sign of purity and holiness in Scripture. As for their crowns, this is the clue to their identity: the Greek word describing their crown is not diatomah, a crown of authority and command, but is instead stephanas, a wreath of victory. In Scripture, those that strive for the prize in "the race" are promised a "crown of victory":
" Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.” (1 Corinthians 9:25, NASB)
So, we see then that by comparing it to Scripture and looking at what the word "crown" denotes, it leaves one possibility: the church.
The next chapter describes the events that transpire in the throne room:
" I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it; and one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.” I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.” And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped." (Revelation 5, NASB)
It's pretty clear that from the description given, that the "lamb" is Jesus Christ, who has been described in Scripture as "the Lamb of God." All the descriptors of him in this chapter clearly point Jesus out. What isn't so clear is what the scroll represents, and why only He can open it.
We'll examine that in part 2, when Jesus takes the scroll and begins to break the seals...
YBIC,
-Sojo414
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